Registered Nurse (RN) Resume Examples

From asking where it hurts to monitoring the ICU, you combine skill and compassion in everything you do. You could probably explain a thing or two to Dr. House! The recruiter doesn’t know it yet, so how do you get the point across? Send them the best registered nurse resume, in less time than it takes to set up an IV.

This guide will show you: 

• A professional registered nurse resume example better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
• How to write a resume for registered nursing jobs that will land you more interviews.
• Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements to have a perfect RN resume example.
• How to describe your experience on a resume for registered nurses to get any job you want.

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Watch our video for tips on making a perfect registered nurse resume, and find more details in the article below

Registered Nurse Resume Example

Sample Registered Nurse Resume

Now you've seen what perfect RN resume examples should look like, it's time to get to writing a job-winning RN resume for yourself.

1. Structure Your Registered Nurse Resume Template Properly

What would you do if you saw a colleague administering medication before calling for appropriate tests and asking the patient how they felt?

Yeah, I can see them being flung out the doors right now.

Medical treatment is a structured process for a reason. It’s the same with your nursing resume. Good formatting ensures good readability.

Here’s how to format a registered nurse resume:

• Format: the reverse-chronological format.
• Section headings: put your name and up-to-date contact information at the top so that recruiters know how to reach you in a flash.
• Fonts: use professional, easy to read resume fonts. 14-16 pt for section headers, 12 pt for the rest of the text.
• Margins: keep even, 1” resume margins on all sides of the page.
• Line spacing: stick with 1.15 line spacing.
• Sections: use visible section headers and plenty of white space to make your nursing resume easy to read.
• Filetype: always save your resume format in PDF unless the job ad says otherwise.

Now that that’s out of the way, here’s a short procedural how to on what you should include in your RN resume:

• Header: add your current and relevant contact information.
• Resume Objective/Summary: a short intro that explains why you’re perfect for the position.
• Work Experience: a breakdown of your professional career history and achievements.
• Education: a brief description of your academic background.
• Skills: a list of your most prominent and relevant nursing skills and abilities.
• Extra sections: add a little sparkle to your RN resume by including relevant awards, certifications, foreign language knowledge, etc.

Read more about resume formatting: How to Choose a Professional Resume Format

You’re not going to begin with a nursing resume objective/summary, though. Think of it as a diagnosis. Start to go through each section—your job experience, education, and skills, gathering up the most notable of them along the way. When you’re done, go back to the beginning of your registered nurse resume and write an intro that encompasses the whole of your application.

2. Start with a Registered Nurse Resume Work Experience Section

Employment forecasts indicated above-average growth in nursing jobs in the years leading up to and beyond 2022. In fact, the BLS predicted that registered nurse positions would outnumber those in any other profession in the U.S. by that time and in subsequent years.

But that doesn’t make your life any easier. Rising employment demand means a rise in the amount of people taking up nursing as a career. That means more competition for you. Hospitals and treatment centers also aren’t just going to take anyone of the street. After all, you’re in the business of saving lives—you need to be the best.

So how do you convince the hiring manager that you are, indeed, the best?

Here’s the best way to create a registered nurse resume description of your job experience:

• Go for the reverse-chronological order on your resume. Start with your most recent positions and work your way back.
• Don't go too far back on your resume. Include only what is relevant.
• Include your job title, the employer’s name and location, and the dates you worked there.
• Add your registered nursing responsibilities in bullet points.
• Use up to 6 for your current position and fewer as you go back in time.
• Always tailor your resume to the requirements of the job ad.
• Add quantifiable, noticeable achievements that immediately show hiring managers that you’re the registered nurse that they need.
• Make your RN resume more meaningful by using the PAR (Problem-Action-Result) formula in the description of your nursing and medical responsibilities.
• Use resume action words at the beginning to show recruiters you are a pro in your field.

That’s the theory. Let’s see an example of these guidelines put into practice.

Registered Nurse Job Description for a Resume with Experience

The right example clearly demonstrates that this candidate knows patient care like the back of their hand. The wrong example is a little like that TV doctor taking a snooze on a gurney when they should be on call. And to think that both of these examples come from the same candidate! See what a difference specific examples make?

But what if you’re just starting out as a registered nurse? If you have an entry-level registered nurse resume, you need to show that you have the knowledge and skills to do a great job.

Take a look at these resume examples without experience (technically!):

Registered Nurse Resume Sample with No Experience

As you can see, even short, entry-level experience gained as a nursing student can speak volumes when presented correctly. Now that's what a resume should look like!

The wrong example is so vague that it could have been written on the basis of watching Grey’s Anatomy.

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Read up further on describing work experience on a resume: Tips for Making a Stellar Work Experience Section for a Resume

3. Enter Your Education (It’s Not That Straightforward!)

The right degree is absolutely essential for registered nursing. Yet you don’t need to list your entire education. List only your relevant, highest degree. 

Here’s what your education section should look like:

Registered Nurse Resume Education Sample

Though it may be tempting, refrain from adding your GPA on a resume unless it’s higher than your own blood pressure. If you’re an experienced RN, leave out your GPA completely.

For inexperienced RNs who were the smartest nurse in the room, it might be a good idea to add your magna cum laude on your resume. This is what it would look like:

Super simple!

You may be wondering where the rest of your credentials should go. We’ll discuss them in the next section.

Educate yourself more on listing your education: How to Put Your Degree on a Resume

4. List Your Registered Nurse Credentials

The hiring manager has 99 problems, but finding your credentials shouldn’t be one.

Nursing is quite unique in the fact that it’s not enough to just have a higher education. There’s also a number of certificates, renewable licenses, and credentials registered nurses need in order to practice nursing.

Now that may seem a little overwhelming, but thankfully the American Nursing Credentialing Center (ANCC) has come to the rescue with a universal format to list all this information cohesively.

List registered nursing education and credentials in this order:

1. Degree
2. License
3. State designations or requirements
4. National certifications
5. Awards and honors
6. Other recognitions

Let’s take a look at how that should look on a registered nurse resume:

Registered Nurse Resume Licenses and Certifications Sample

See that? Easy peasy.

And here's a pro tip: add your RN credentials after your name in the resume header.

Read more: How to List Licenses and Certification on a Resume

5. List Registered Nurse Skills Relevant to Your Specialization

Although the demand for nurses is rising, the growth in specific specializations isn’t uniform, with demand growing much faster in specializations such as medical-surgical, OR, ICU, or ER.

Healthcare recruiters don’t need to sift through another pile of vague resumes from candidates who cared for patients. They’re looking for specialized nurses and fast.

So how to pinpoint the key skills that make your registered nurse resume stand out?

Follow these tips:

• Let the job ad give you useful hints as to what they’re looking for through resume keywords.
• Think about what relevant skills and certifications you’ve acquired over time. Look at your credentials and experience sections for extra inspiration.
• Write down all your key strengths on a master list.
• Pinpoint the skills on your master list that match those required in the job ad.
• Make a list of the 5-10 most relevant professional skills in your registered nurse resume skills section.
• Always remember to include both hard skills and soft skills on your nursing resume. They’re equally important!

Take another look at your experience section. Does it prove the skills you just listed? Make sure these two sections compliment each other like scrubs and a lucky surgical cap.

The following registered nursing skills will help you compile your list:

20+ Most Common Registered Nurse Resume Skills

• Dedication
• Patience
• Stress Management
• Excellent Communication Skills
• Attention to Detail
• Compassion
• Adaptability
• Decision Making 
• Patient Assessment
• Taking Vital Signs
• Time Management
• Technical Skills
• Perform and Evaluate Diagnostic Tests
• Organizational Skills
• Problem Solving
• Conflict Resolution
• Administering and Monitoring Medications
• Wound Care
• Safe Patient Transfers
• CPR
• Basic computer skills such as MS Office skills
• Teamwork Skills
• Interpersonal Skills
• Language Skills (esp. bilingual skills)
• Any other transferable skills such as administrative skills, leadership skills, or project management skills.

Now that you’re well stocked in nursing skills, let’s look at a sample of skills that you might want to list on your resume.

Registered Nurse Skills Resume Example

Remember to use the job ad requirements as a guide to which key skills hiring managers are in dire need of.

6. Show Don’t Tell: Add “Extra” Sections to Your Registered Nurse Resume

It takes months to recruit an experienced RN. Months.

Cut down that time by showing the hiring manager that not only are you skilled in saving a life, but that you have a passion for living it as well. 

How?

Lots of RNs are going to have the same skills and similar experience to you. You can stand out through your interests and passions. A well-crafted additional resume section will have recruiters breathing a sigh of relief and saying “This is the one!”

Registered Nurse Resume Examples: Extra Sections

1. Language on a Resume

Knowledge of a foreign language can really give you a big advantage over other candidates. From gathering patient history to talking through treatment to reassuring worried family members, knowing a foreign language can be a very valuable asset.

2. Hobbies and Interests on a Resume

No one cares that you love cats, right? Maybe the recruiter doesn’t, but they will be interested in your curiosity about psychology, meditating, healthy eating. These hobbies not only demonstrate you have passions outside of work, but they can also be a positive influence on your work.

3. Memberships in Organizations

Demonstrating membership in a medical or nursing association shows the hiring manager that you take your career seriously and that nursing isn’t just some job for you.

4. Volunteer Experience

Volunteer work may not carry the same weight as your job experience, but it does demonstrate a passion to help others, one of the crucial attributes of a fantastic registered nurse. And don't forget about your experience shadowing.

For more possibilities when it comes to additional parts of a resume, see this guide: What to Include in a Resume: 20+ Top Examples

7. Compile the Best Bits Into a Registered Nurse Resume Objective or Summary

Let’s go back to the beginning of your nursing resume. There’s no point in sharing treatment plan and writing out prescriptions, if there’s no set diagnosis.

Your resume "about me" section is the overarching conclusion that lets the recruiter know, in a few sentences, exactly who they’re dealing with.

There are two types of summaries of skills and qualifications: the objective or the summary.

Skim over your RN resume once again. Look for the skills and achievements that stand out like a Mickey Mouse band aid. Choose 2-3 of those top achievements that will get the recruiter’s heart racing and write out your heading statement based on them.

Now—If you have years of experience and quite a list of skills, choose the professional summary. The resume summary gives a brief, but impressive overview of your accomplishments and experience. This is the definite go to if you could teach Dr. Mike a thing or two.

Take a look at these two registered nurse resume summary examples:

Registered Nurse Resume Summary

That wrong example will make the recruiter feel like they’re waiting outside the ER—they’re anxious and are starved for information.

So what if you’re just starting out as a registered nurse?

Use the professional objective. This is the go to when you have little experience and need to lean on your skills and knowledge to show you’re a valuable hire.

Here are two registered nurse resume objective samples:

Registered Nurse Resume Objectives

Both the summary and objective follow the same rules—tailor your objective to the needs of the employer and impress through numbers. 

Want to see more info on writing a resume for healthcare professions? Check these guides:

• Charge Nurse Resume
• CNA Resume Examples
• ICU Nurse Resume
• Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Resume
• LVN (Licensed Vocational Nurse) Resume
• New Grad Nursing Resume
• NICU Nurse Resume
• Nurse Practitioner Resume
• Nursing Resume
• Operating Room Nurse Resume
• Travel Nurse Resume

Looking for the full recipe on starting a resume correctly? Look no further: How to Write a Resume Profile: Tips & Examples

8. Write a Great Registered Nurse Cover Letter

You don’t need to write a cover letter. Especially if the job ad doesn’t ask for one. Even more so if you want your resume for RN jobs rolled straight into the morgue.

Think of it like a pair of brightly colored, clean scrubs—if the recruiter sees both a well-written resume and cover letter, they’ll know that they’ve got a professional who knows that nursing is more than cleaning bedpans and giving shots.

This is how to write a registered nurse cover letter:

• Format the cover letter before you start to write it.
• Address your cover letter directly to the recruiter.
• Start your cover letter off with an introduction that will keep the recruiter reading on.
• Mention top achievements and the specific experience you bring to the position.
• End with a call to action in a powerful closing statement.

That’s all!

Learn more on how to write a compelling registered nurse cover letter: Nursing Cover Letter Sample

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

Create my cover letter now

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Recap—Registered Nurse Resume in a Nutshell

Let’s strip everything down to the bare bones—

Here’s how to write a registered nurse resume step by step:

• Format the registered nurse resume template with a professional font, correct line spacing, proper margins, and plenty of white space.
• Skip writing the registered nurse resume objective or summary until the end.
• Document your previous work history using action verbs, bullet points, and a tailored approach.
• List your education correctly.
• Add your credentials in a clear, professional format which is universally accepted and understood.
• Include your key nursing skills and make sure they’re echoed in your experience section.
• Don’t forget to include a registered nurse cover letter if you want that nursing interview!

Okay, that’s it! Now, we’d love to hear from you: 

• What are the biggest challenges for you when writing a registered nurse resume? 
• Are you having problems coming up with relevant nursing skills or achievements?
• Do you need help with including your nursing specialization(s) on a resume?

Let’s chat below in the comments, and thanks for reading!

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Sources

• https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm
• https://www.nursingworld.org/~48fdf9/globalassets/certification/renewals/how-to-display-your-credentials